Alyssa teaches Chemistry and Honors Chemistry at Gateway High School. She studied Biological Anthropology at San Francisco State and received her Masters in Teaching from University of San Francisco. Ms. Amabile loves animals and the outdoors. She enjoys playing volleyball, hiking with her dog, cooking for friends and family, exploring new places, and trying new things. Ms. A loves everything about science and enjoys sharing that passion with others.

This is James’ first year teaching Humanities at Gateway High. He recently completed a Master’s degree in Education from the University of San Francisco and holds a Bachelor’s degree in English. Before entering the teaching profession, James traveled throughout Europe teaching English as a second language and worked in a variety of professional fields, including emergency medical care, construction, and project and account management. On his free time, he enjoys outdoor activities such as cycling, surfing, and hiking.

Evan Bass is excited for the upcoming year at Gateway. He is teaching Algebra and sits on the School Leadership Team, overseeing Advisory and Student Life. Evan received his Bachelors degree at Macalester College in Minnesota in Communication Studies and Education. He is originally from Chicago, IL, but has been in the Bay Area for 14 years. Evan is married and has a daughter who keeps him busy. He loves sports, competition, and music, and stays involved with all of them during his free time. He also DJ’s, does photo booth and videography services as a side business.

Tommy Becker teaches Visual Arts II, Visual Arts 3 Honors and Intro to Video Arts at Gateway High School. He studied interdisciplinary arts as an undergraduate at the San Francisco Art Institute before receiving his Master of Fine Arts from the California College of the Arts in 2001. Locally, he has participated in the Bay Area Now Show at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and as a resident at Headlands Center for the Arts. His video work has been screened both nationally and internationally with recent presentations at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco; Echo Park Film Center, Los Angeles; Sydney Underground Film Festival, Sydney, Australia and Antimatter Media Arts Festival, Victoria, BC.

Larry earned his BA in History from U.C. Berkeley and a law degree from Columbia. He worked as a corporate litigator, public defender, then tried his hand at running national junior golf tournaments, where he discovered his true passion is working with teenagers. After stopping at Stanford for a Masters in Education, he taught for four years on the Peninsula and in Oakland before returning to his native San Francisco to teach at Gateway. His goal is always to balance time at work with running, finding great restaurants, and yelling loudly at Cal games.

Justin Berthiaume teaches Environmental Science and AP Environmental Science, and led the creative team to design and construct the Gateway Garden. He has also taught Biology and Physical Science at Gateway. Prior to teaching, Mr. Berthiaume served for 7 years as a landscape architect and park planner for the National Park Service. He also worked as a professional musician and artist manager in Boston. Mr. Berthiaume completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Massachusetts, and obtained his Masters in Teaching from the University of San Francisco. His passion is everything science, everything music, and everything Earth.

David Booth joined Gateway in 2011 as an English 12 and Humanities 11 teacher. He holds two Master’s degrees, one in English and one in creative writing, from San Francisco State University. Prior to coming to Gateway, he was an instructor in the MFA in writing program at University of San Franciso, where he led workshops and taught literature courses in fiction and creative nonfiction. He has taught English language arts to 7th, 8th, and 11th graders. As a past employee in social and mental health services in San Francisco, he has worked extensively with kids in urban classroom settings.

Lauren Buckley teaches Spanish AP Language and Heritage Speaker B. She is also the testing coordinator here at Gateway High School. She is from Baltimore, Maryland, and studied Linguistics at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. This is her 10th year teaching Spanish at the high school level. She is the proud mother of two beautiful children, a 14-year-old and a 2 year-old. Her hobbies include traveling, playing volleyball, playing board games, spending time with her family, and exploring new places in and around San Francisco.

Susan will join the Special Education team, supporting the 12th grade cohort. Susan has a rich breadth of experience in varied educational settings. Her studies include UCLA’s Motion Picture and Television School and San Francisco State University’s Department of Special Education. Currently, Susan is working towards a certification in teaching reading to students with dyslexia. Her son attends the New School in New York (in his junior year) and she lives in the East Bay near her extended family. Susan loves movies, spending time with family and friends, and practicing Qi Gong and swimming.